The invention of the calculator is attributed to several innovators over time, but the earliest recognized mechanical calculator was created by Blaise Pascal in 1642. Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher, invented the "Pascaline," a mechanical device designed to perform addition and subtraction to assist with his father's tax calculations. This machine featured a novel carry mechanism that allowed digits to cascade correctly, which was a significant advancement for its time
. Before Pascal, Wilhelm Schickard had designed an adding machine called the "Calculating Clock" in 1623, which is considered one of the first adding machines, but Pascal's Pascaline is generally credited as the first practical mechanical calculator
. Later developments included Philip Matthäus Hahn's calculator in 1773 and Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar's Arithmometer in 1820, which was the first commercially successful mechanical calculator capable of all four basic arithmetic operations
. In summary:
- Wilhelm Schickard created an early adding machine in 1623.
- Blaise Pascal invented the first practical mechanical calculator, the Pascaline, in 1642.
- Subsequent inventors improved and commercialized mechanical calculators in the 18th and 19th centuries
Thus, Blaise Pascal is most often credited as the inventor of the calculator in its early mechanical form.
